To be honest, I would have fallen off my chair if the elegant prose of Mr Crisp had been expressing positive comments about this performance:

Spain's Euro Glums come to London By Clement Crisp for The Financial Times

Not a single Ole{'}. Not a dusty flounce, nor an affronted stare - well, not from the stage, anyway. Spain has sent the Compañia Nacional de Danza to the Wells this week, but I suspect that the troupe's real title is Nederlands Dans Theater Four. Here are all those drear procedures of the Euroglum manner: the wormy contortions and the aggressively flexed feet, the dismal costumes, the dank air and the dark motives, and the general feeling that costive emotions bring no less clogged movement. The reason for all this, I venture, is that the company is directed by Nacho Duato, alumnus of the Cullberg and Nederlands Dans ensembles, and a dedicated apostle of their neurotic and doom-laden aesthetic.

The programme offers three of Duato's choreographies. I suppose you could tell one from another, if you wanted to, but it was hard to want to. When sprightly and athletic, as in Txalaparta, the dance looked like a meeting of St Vitus-Watchers Anonymous. When laying into the music of Corelli and Scarlatti, in Arcangelo, it was blank and trod heavily on the scores.

Yes, it is a fine style and to be honest djb, you might have lost points if you didn't recognise it.

The thing is that from where i sat, (not far from Mr Crisp), I saw beautiful dancers performing well-crafted dance, most easily decribed as of the NDT school, which is applauded in most parts of the world, except in the UK newspapers. I had a good time, particularly with the final work, "White Darkness".

Mr Crisp is an important dance historian and archivist and those who have attended his dance history lectures enthuse greatly over his wit and erudition.

However as a critic who dislikes among others the Kylian School, Christopher Bruce, Matthew Bourne and William Forsythe, I take his judgements, outside of the work of the major world ballet companies, with a pinch of salt.

Your point about back-up is well taken Malcolm, but the answer is - no. It would be a good idea to have someone like Luke Jennings or Keith Watson, who both enjoy a wide range of recent modern dance, to cover that aspect of the London season.

This is not the first time that it has occured to me that Sadler's Wells must be even more of a brilliant dance venue than I thought. I sat not very far from Mr. Crisp on Tuesday night but he clearly cannot have watched the same performance I saw. Maybe there is another stage there not visible to everybody? I saw a company of beautifully musical dancers perform fluently elegant choreography. I will post more comments later but for now I would recommend to people to go and judge for themselves. This evening of dance is well worth seeing.

When George Balanchine compared himself to a cook he meant to demystify the extraordinary artfulness with which he made his ballets. But a chef can work with the finest ingredients and still bungle a meal - and so can choreographers. As director of Spain's leading dance company, Nacho Duato has superb forces at his disposal. His dancers possess exquisite musical reflexes, their bodies display that mix of extravagant talent and hardworking modesty that makes for a perfectly unified, responsive troupe.

The designs are executed on a spectacular scale and the costume are beautifully styled and cut. And Duato himself has talent. His combination of glowing, stretchy moves and rhythmic deformations, his ability to freeze quirky human sculpture out of a burst of speed, all add up to real style, and his eye is extraordinary.

THE Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato was responsible for one of the lowest points in Ross Stretton’s brief directorship of the Royal Ballet. His tedious Por vos muero, acquired by Stretton in an effort to modernise the Covent Garden ballet, made one’s heart sink and one’s soul despair for the future.

Duato is back in London to try again, this time with his own Madrid-based company, Compañía Nacional de Danza. For their week-long season at Sadler’s Wells the Spaniards are showcasing three of Duato’s most recent creations. None, I’m happy to report, is as bad as Por vos muero.

The choreographer spent years dancing with Jirí Kylián’s Netherlands Dance Theatre, and Kylián’s influence is everywhere to be felt in Duato’s liquid-pure dances.

No such relief from Nacho Duato, whose choreography for his Madrid-based Compañía Nacional de Danza is in a constant state of tension. For White Darkness, to doom-laden music by Karl Jenkins, he surrounds a suffering senior couple with hyperactive youngsters. Death claims the central pair in Arcangelo, a series of anguished encounters to airs by Corelli and Scarlatti. The duets are emotional macramé, tying the dancers in knots.

Compania Nacional de Danza By Jenny Gilbert for The Independent on Sunday

Too bad the dancers of the Compania Nacional de Danza, "Spain's foremost modern dance company", couldn't nip over to South Bank for a look. They are marvellous technicians, schooled – like Nunn and Trevitt – in the precision of classical style but intent – again like Nunn and Trevitt – on applying that technique to other ends. The trouble is that their material isn't half as good as they are.

Nacho Duato – the company's artistic director – is a great one for theatrical effects. At Sadler's Wells his dancers got hoisted to the ceiling, showered on by rice, upstaged by free-floating giant mobiles and walled up in gold leaf. They also gave their hearts and souls to do their best for Duato's choreography – all to very little effect.

Nacho Duato to Dance Out Bach's Music on Seoul Stage By Yoon Ja-young for The Korea Times

One of the most admired choreographers in Europe, Nacho Duato is to be on Seoul stage for the second time, restoring Johann Sebastian Bach on the stage.

``Multiplicity: Forms of Silence and Emptiness'' is Duato's homage to the Baroque musician. He created ``Multiplicity'' in Weimar, Germany in 2000, to commemorate Bach who passed away 250 years ago. The whole world was crazy for Bach then, and Weimar, where he spent his youth from 1708 to 1717, had no reason to shirk the ritual to the great musician.

¡Bailamos! Nacho Duato’s Compañía Nacional de Danza to debut in San Francisco at the end of the month

Nacho Duato’s Compañía Nacional de Danza will soar in and make its San Francisco debut at the end of February. Duato studied at the Rambert School in London, Maurice Bejart’s Mudra School in Brussels, and The Alvin Ailey American Dance Center in New York before pursuing a professional career, dancing with the Cullberg Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater before trying his hand at choreography in 1983. Since then, he’s created renowned works for companies all across the globe, and his company, based in Madrid, Spain, is known for its strong dancers and unpretentious style, boasting 27 dancers and a well-regarded second company.

Kayoko Everhart, a dancer with the main company, trained for several years here in San Francisco and graciously agreed to answer a few questions about her formal dance training, performing career, and current experiences with CND in advance of the company's West Coast visit.

How did you get started in dance? What is your background and training?

The women in my family were very much involved with dance. My mother danced in a well-known theater/dance group in Tokyo, my aunt and cousin were competitive ballroom dancers, and my grandmother did traditional Japanese dance. Her last show was at the age of 92... I think she's about 96 now. I trained [for] nearly 10 years under Kay Englert at Washington Contemporary Ballet in Tacoma, WA. Then, in 2000 San Francisco Ballet School offered me a tuition scholarship to join the school. I had attended 2 summer programs with SF Ballet School before attending the [residency] program.

You studied at the Washington Contemporary Ballet and San Francisco Ballet, working with well-known dancers and artistic directors. How did your training prepare you for a professional career in dance?

My training at WA Contemporary Ballet gave me a strong base in classical ballet as well as in contemporary movement. Without it I wouldn't have gotten into SF Ballet School. I was given many opportunities to perform with the company while I was in San Francisco, and that definitely help to build an awareness of how everything functions in a professional company. The most valuable training I received was the time spent on stage and of course the time spent preparing for the performances.

Prior to Compañía Nacional de Danza, you danced with Tulsa Ballet and CNDII [the “second” company of CND]. What were these experiences like, and how do they differ from CND?

Tulsa Ballet is a mixed rep company, meaning they do a wide range of pieces from classical to modern. It's very interesting to have to constantly change styles. Being in CND2 was a great experience. It's a group of 14 dancers all between the ages of 17-24 from many different countries so we all had a lot of fun touring together. CND2 performs most of Nacho's older pieces, as well as choreographies by CND1 dancers, other up-and-coming choreographers, as well as pieces by the Co Artistic Director of CND2 Tony Fabre. The atmosphere in the 1st company is very different from the 2nd. The dancers are older and more experienced so there's a lot I can learn just by watching and being around them. Because there are twice as many people in the 1st company the group is not as closely knit. It did take some adjusting in the beginning.

I was given my first opportunity to dance a Nacho Duato piece (“Arenal”) while I was at Tulsa Ballet, and I quickly fell in love with the style. It's organic, and I felt very comfortable doing his movement. After some urging from a close friend, I decided to fly to Madrid for the audition. I didn't know much about the company at the time, and had never been to Spain, let alone Europe, but I knew I would be happy dancing his ballets. After being in CND2 there was no question about wanting to be in CND1.

Here in the US, companies often hire international dancers. How has your transition from American to European life progressed? And what differences or similarities have you experienced? How's your Spanish?

Naturally, I was ecstatic about joining CND2 and moving to Spain, but at the same time it was very unnerving to be in a country where I had no friends or family, and where I didn't speak the language. I started studying Spanish right away, but it took about a year to feel comfortable using the Spanish that I had learned. These days I can understand nearly everything and speak well enough to express myself. The lifestyle in Spain is comfortable and laid-back, but there are many smaller comforts that I miss about the US like all the 24hr stores and the huge number of choices at the supermarket.

What are some of your favorite works to perform? And will you be dancing any of them on tour?

While I was dancing with CND2 my favorites to perform were “Arenal,” “Na Floresta,” and “Rassemblement” (which I'll be performing on Feb 21). My current favorites with CND1 are “Herrumbre,” “White Darkness” (Feb 21), and “Por Vos Muero” (Feb 24).

Describe one of your favorite moments with CND and/or CNDII.

I was lucky enough to join CND1 in the middle of last season (Jan 2007), and my second tour with the company was to Yokohama, Japan. It's where my sister and nephew live, and it's just next to Tokyo where I was born and where my mother's family lives. My parents flew out from Tacoma, WA to see the show. I was completely nervous because it was my premiere with the 1st company, and it was the first time for all of my friends and family in Japan to see me dance, but in the end it was a great and memorable experience! I'm really thrilled that my 96-year-old grandmother got to see me perform.

With your, albeit brief, return to San Francisco, are there any places you hope to visit? Or favorite restaurants or places in the city you aim to revisit?

Most important on my agenda is to get in contact with old friends. It's been 6 years since my last visit to San Francisco, and that was only for a few days. If I have any time left after that I'll probably rediscover the city a bit.... walk around Fisherman's Wharf, Haight-Ashbury, Golden Gate Park, or Ocean Beach. Maybe I'll even ride a cable car, which I never did when I lived in San Francisco.

You can see Compañía Nacional de Danza February 20-24 (off-day on February 22), 2008 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Compañía Nacional de Danza is presented by San Francisco Performances.

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